Mid-Week Check-in

We’re ramping up the mileage and workouts these days!

This week I’m scheduled to hit 72 miles (6 days of running), next week is 76 miles (6 days of running), and the following week is 88 [EIGHTY-EIGHT] miles (7 days of running). Eek! That number definitely has me shaking in my boots [errr. . . .running shoes??] a little bit, but I am also excited about hitting that kind of mileage. I have to take it one day at a time, otherwise I get really overwhelmed. Usually the day before I figure out when I’m going to run, the route, and the logistics of the run, and then just stick to the plan. Most days I run before Craig goes to work, but sometimes I push the stroller, other days I’ll run at the gym or have a friend watch Cullen. I always get the run done, but I HAVE to stick to the plan.

It is really motivating watching yourself run in the mirror.

So far I’ve run 32 miles this week, with 38 left to go. Here’s a quick recap of my workouts thus far.

Monday

10 miles | tempo run

5 x 1 mile @ 6:20 pace

4 x 200 meters, cut-downs (each one faster than the last)

My tempo pace all of last year was 6:30, but recently my coach bumped me down to 6:20 pace. Yeah, that means I’m getting faster! I did this workout on the treadmill. The last 1.5 intervals were the toughest, but that’s how it should be. The 200s were crazy fast, but luckily it is just 0.12 mile. The weird thing about the 200s was that it felt like my abs were going to fall off. . .no joke. I don’t know how to describe it other than I felt like my abs were going to detach from my body and fall off; it was the weirdest thing.

Tuesday

AM – 6 miles, easy

Easy run before Craig went to work. I am loving the daylight in the mornings now, but that will be gone next week after we spring forward. Boo!

30 minutes of weight lifting – I can now do 2 pull-ups! I have been working on doing pull-ups since last summer, and I can finally do two. Woohoo! (See my Instagram account for a really good glute workout.)

PM – 6 miles, easy

Stroller run. We ran out by the airport so Cullen could watch the airplanes. This went fine. . .nothing horrible, nothing great.

Wednesday

As always, I thoroughly enjoy my days off, but I finally feel like I’m over the hump of needing these days. If I had to, I could have run today and been just fine. On my day off, I got to sleep in (a little), have brunch with a friend, and made granola and protein bites.

Thursday

12 miles | progressively faster run

1 @ 8:00+
2 @ 7:30
2 @ 7:15
2 @7:00
2 @ sub-6:50 (actual–>6:44)
2 @ 6:30-40 (actual–>6:31)
1 @ 8:00+

I did this workout on the treadmill, so I wouldn’t have to keep obsessively checking my watch to ensure I was hitting the correct paces. I didn’t have any problems hitting the paces. As always, the last little bit is tough, but that’s the way it is supposed to be.

PM – 45 minutes weight lifting

This is one of my favorite recovery tools because it can dig in and pinpoint really certain areas of your muscles. I especially like it for my glutes and hamstrings as the foam roller doesn’t always dig that deep into those muscles. I believe this is the smallest Orb ball, and with its smaller size it has the most intense massage.